The Elect
by Fluobophone
Summary: Based on the Selection series by Kiera Cass. Enjolras was perfectly fine with his normal life until his best friend convinced him to turn in an Election form for a chance to become King. Princess Eponine just wanted to live her own life and hates these boys for coming into her home to ruin that. Can they make it through together? Lots of OCs, and of course, Enjonine!
1. The Letter

"Enjolras, did you hear the news?" Maurice Combeferre yelled to his friend and neighbor from porch to porch.

"No, mon ami. What are you talking about? Was there another attack on the capital?" Gabriel Enjolras responded, walking to check his family's mailbox, as his best friend did the same.

"The princess is turning twenty in six months." Combeferre said.

"And? Everyone knows that." Enjolras responded. Everyone knew all the basic facts about the whole royal family.

"And, the King has called for the Election to begin." His friend said, like it was obvious.

"Why does that have anything to do with me?" Enjolras said, shuffling through the envelopes, looking for anything interesting. Mostly, it was just the same old announcements and bills. But there was one, smaller, fancier, heavier envelope. It was addressed to Gabriel Enjolras.

"Because, that envelope you're holding is the exact same as the one I have in my hand. The only difference is the name." Combeferre explained, walking over to his best friend and tearing open the envelope.

Princess Éponine Raina Thenardier Jondrette is becoming of age and will have to choose a husband by her twenty-first birthday. That is eighteen months away. All single males between the ages of nineteen and twenty-four are requested to fill out and submit a form to be placed in the Elect. The forms must be submitted by one week from today.

One young man from each of the fifty sectors of the United Queendom of France will be selected to visit the castle a week following that, and stay until the princess requests your leave. She will eventually narrow down the count to ten, the Exceptional, and then to three, the Exquisite, and then finally to one, the Exclusive. This one will be given permission to propose and be married to the princess before her twenty-first birthday. Upon the princess's twenty-fifth birthday, both will be crowned King and Queen of the United Queendom of France.

On behalf of the entire royal family, especially Princess Éponine, we would like to invite you to fill out and return the form enclosed with a picture according to the parameters listed. We wish you the best of luck. Maybe you could be the one to win the heart of our dear Princess Éponine, daughter of the Queendom.

"Wow. I can't imagine such a terrible way to find the love of your life." Combeferre said after both had read their letters.

"I can't imagine such a terrible way to choose a King. This is why our country-" Enjolras started, but was cut off by his best friend.

"Save all the political speeches for when you get to the castle."

"What do you mean? Do you think I am actually going to fill out this stupid form? Much less be selected as an Elect?" When his best friend just stared at him, Enjolras shook his head. "No mon ami. This would be a waste of time. They would kick me out as soon as I opened my mouth. And look at my record! I've had so many citations for speaking out against the monarchy."

"But how better to change the policies than be the king? Who knows? Maybe the royal family will actually like you. Maybe Princess Éponine will like you." Combeferre said with a suggestive lift to his eyebrows.

"Oh, please." Enjolras scoffed. "There's no way. Even if she did, I am in love with this country, I don't have time for some girl to ruin it, no matter how important she is."

"Gabriel Auguste Enjolras, will you listen to me? If you were to marry the princess, you would practically be marrying the country. There is no way to get closer to what you want. Will you at least try? Talk to your mom and dad. I bet they will agree with me. Ask 'Laide and 'Enne? How happy would it make Adrienne to have an older brother at least visit the palace, even if you get kicked out the first day? Fill out the form, mon ami." Combeferre said.

Enjolras nodded thoughtfully. "Fine. I'll talk to them, but I'm not filling out the stupid form unless you do, as well, 'Ferre. I bet Kamille would agree with me."

His friend blushed at the mention of the girl. "I'll fill it out if Kamille wants me to, but I make no promises on that front. I'd be perfectly fine staying right here in sector twelve for the rest of my life, if it meant that I could be with her forever. I'd do anything for her, you know that."

"I do. So go along, then. Go talk to your little girlfriend. Only one of us can go anyways. If I go, you can stay with Kamille. If you go, I'll keep watch over her, make sure she's happy, and if neither of us go, nothing will change. Tomorrow, we will either turn in our forms, or burn them." Enjolras decreed.

"See, you were born to be King. You make demands like no other. See you tomorrow, mon ami." 'Ferre said.

"See you tomorrow. Tell Kamille I say hello." His friend sighed and walked back over to his side of the fence and disappeared into his house that looked identical to the rest of the houses on the street. Enjolras did the same. He plopped the rest of the mail on the kitchen table, and walked into the living room where his two sisters were seated, each working on a project. Enjolras' older sister, Adélaïde, was frantically typing on her computer. Adrienne, his younger sister, was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a guitar in her lap, sheet music and pencil in front of her.

Adrienne had just declared her plan of study a few months ago, when she turned eighteen and decided she wanted to be a musician. After a little bit of deliberation, the council decided that they would allow it. She had a spiral notebook of sheet music and a pencil attached to her every minute since the decision was made. There wasn't much time or resources to spend on fun hobbies like music anymore, but every couple of years, the council would allow a musician to begin studying, just to keep the trade going for the upper class families that could still afford live or recorded music.

Adélaïde had been working as a personal assistant for five years, after studying and interning for two years. She was now twenty-five, and was engaged to be married in five months. She started off as a personal assistant to her fiancé, Gilbert Leclair, an up and coming actor. Soon after she started working for him, however, they fell in love. After three and a half years, his career took off, and he decided he was finally making enough money, so he asked her father's permission, which was granted, and asked her to marry him. She said yes, but continued on as his personal assistant. It didn't hurt either of their positions that Regis Enjolras worked in the same industry, so connections were easily made.

"What'cha go there, 'El?" Adrienne asked, looking up from her sheet music.

"Oh, just a letter." He responded, trying to act nonchalantly.

"From who? Why are you getting a letter? I bet it's from a secret admirer. Is it Chloe? Or maybe it's from Kamille. I always knew she was just interested in 'Ferre to get to you! What do you think, 'Laide?" Adrienne ranted. Kamille was the same age as Enjolras' younger sister, and while they were good friends, Adrienne had always had this strange theory that Kamille was in love with her older brother. She also claimed that it had nothing to do with her age-old crush on her older brother's best friend.

"I bet it's his invitation to fill out an Election form. Am I right, 'El?" His older sister asked. "You are the right age, and everyone in the world seems to know you're single."

He nodded. "Kamille and 'Ferre love each other, how many times do I have to tell you that, 'Enne? And why would I be receiving a love letter from Chloe? We have had but one conversation. 'Laide is right."

"Eeee! You have to fill it out! I can just see it. King Gabriel Auguste Enjolras Jondrette and Queen Éponine Raina Thenardier Enjolras Jondrette. Ooo, you two would be so cute together!" Adrienne squealed.

"'Enne, even if I fill it out and turn it in, it's very unlikely I'll be chosen even as an Elect, much less the Exclusive. I'd probably be kicked out of the castle in ten minutes. Princess Éponine would probably hate my guts." Enjolras explained.

"I still think you should do it, 'El." She said, quietly, looking down and playing a couple of chords.

"I think you should, too." Adélaïde said, not looking up from her computer. He looked at her, shocked. Without even looking at him, she seemed to understand what he was thinking. "I know, it's not very practical, but think about it. You could at least just waste a half hour filling out a form for nothing. At best, you could become King. I don't see any harm. You love this country more than probably anyone else I know. It could definitely help you achieve your goals." She told him. "Besides, if you do make it, I want to move to sector one and meet the royal family."

"Fine. I told Combeferre I would talk to you guys, and you all seem to have convinced me. But I still don't expect to make it into the Elect. There has to be at least a hundred other eligible, age appropriate men in this sector filling out forms. That's not very good odds." He said, taking a seat at the kitchen table, and starting to fill out the form.

* * *

"You what?!" Éponine yelled at her father.

"We sent out the Election forms. We are due to officially announce it publicly in about twenty minutes. Go find Rosabel and get ready, please." The King told his daughter, walking away uninterested.

"Ughhh!" Éponine huffed before racing up to the fourth floor, slamming the door to her rooms, and plopping on a couch to continue screaming into a pillow.

"Milady Princess?" Rosabel said, coming into the room concernedly.

"Apparently, I have to get ready for a press conference. Can you believe it, Rosa? He sent out the Election forms without even discussing it with me!" Éponine sighed, sitting up.

"Well, you did discuss it-" The maid started.

"Without receiving my consent! I'm not ready to get married! Gav and 'Parnasse are annoying enough, why would I want fifty more smelly, arrogant, pushy boys in my castle?" Éponine complained.

"Princess, I think right now, you would be most suited to calm down in preparation for the cameras. Then you can come back up and huff and puff all you want. I will gladly listen." Rosabel said, getting up to go into the gigantic closet.

"You're right, as usual. It just upsets me that he would do this to me."

"Come, Mademoiselle. Everything will turn out okay. Let's get you prettied up."

"'Ponine! Are you okay? We just heard what Dad did. I'm so sorry." An auburn haired girl with wide brown eyes said, running up to the princess as she left the Throne Room where the announcement had just been recorded. With her was a blonde haired, blue eyed girl and another, small, auburn haired boy with bright eyes. All were wide eyed and looked worried for the princess.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Azelma. I'm very angry, but it'll be okay. I'll figure something out. I always do." Éponine responded to her siblings and best friend.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Cosette, the blonde, asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but I will let you know if I come up with anything. I think I'm just going to go upstairs and take a long bath. I'll come find you when I'm more relaxed and calm." Éponine told them. They all nodded and took off down the corridor. Éponine ran up the stairs, skipping every other one until she reached the fourth floor. She shared the floor with lots of guest rooms, the guard training room, and both of her parents' rooms, but she still always calmed exponentially just by reaching the floor. She walked calmly into her rooms and asked Rosabel to draw a bath for her before pulling out a book she was attempting to read. She was in the midst of Rousseau readings. This particular book was more interesting than many of the philosophy readings she had previously been assigned. "Discourse of Inequality" it was called.

Éponine climbed into the bath and began reading. "Princess, do you need anything else?" Rosabel asked.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine. Come get me in half an hour. That should be a decent amount of time." Éponine responded, not lifting her eyes from her book. The maid curtsied, slightly, before leaving the room. Éponine got a decent chunk of her book read before Rosabel came back to help the princess get out.

"Princess, you have a visitor." Rosabel said, pulling the plug on the tub and letting the water slide out.

"I told Cosette and Azelma I would come find them." The princess responded while holding her arms out for the robe Rosabel had grabbed for her.

"Um-" Rosabel started as she wrapped the princess up and tied the robe shut.

"It's no matter. I was going to go get them anyways. We can have a sleepover! We haven't had one for… Rosa! Why did you let him in here?!" She yelled as she walked out into her bedroom.

"Nice to see you, too, Princess." The boy in front of her smiled cheekily while exaggeratingly checking her out, head to toe.

"Sir Montparnasse, it is highly inappropriate to happen upon any lady in her chambers while she is in only a robe and towel!" Éponine huffed.

"Oh, drop the act, Pony. It's just me. I've seen you in worse." The brown haired, tall, toned man said.

"Don't patronize me. Go wait for me in my sitting room. It won't take me two minutes to change into more appropriate attire to entertain in." She said, turning her back to him.

"Oh, you're going to entertain me tonight?" He said, winking suggestively and not looking in her eyes.

"'Parnasse! If you are going to act this way, I have no patience for it tonight and I will request that you leave. I could call the guards, you know."

"And what good will that do? You know I'll be gone before they even clamor into this room. I'll go wait in the sitting room, but I'm only giving you two minutes before I'm barging back in here, appropriate attire or no. We have much to discuss." He said before slipping out the princess's bedroom door. Éponine jumped into motion, changing and drying her hair as much as she could in the two minutes she was allowed. She knew he would make good on his promise. He always did.

One minute and forty-nine seconds after the son of the captain of the guard left the bedchambers, the princess came out to meet with him. "So, what do you want, 'Parnasse. I've had a very trying day and I doubt a visit from you will make it much better." She said shortly, sitting down as far away from him as she could.

"What is this about the Election starting? I thought it was you and me forever." He said, smirking.

"If this is how this conversation is going to go, you can leave now. The Election was not my idea, and marrying you was even less my idea. I don't want to talk about the stupid thing." The princess said, starting to get worked up again.

"Oh, come on, Pony. I was only joking. What do you want me to do to make it better?" He said, walking over to where she was sitting on a table. She had slipped on very untraditional sweatpants and a t-shirt over her normal sports bra. "I want to distract you." He whispered in her ear while resting his hands on her thighs.

"Not tonight. Nothing is happening tonight. Nothing is happening ever again. Not unless you're chosen as one of the Elect. And I hope you're not. We knew it couldn't last. You were just a nice way to diffuse some tension in my body. You kn- Oh, God. Right there." She moaned. He had moved her to a chair and moved behind her to rub out the knots in her back.

"I know. That's why my form has already been turned in. Straight to the king himself. There's no way I won't get chosen. Then it can be you and me forever. That's what you want, isn't it Pony?" He spoke into her hair.

"Not a chance. But you may always have a spot as my full-time masseuse."

"You know I need more than that, Pony. We have too much history for that." He told her, his hands floating a little too far forward, past her shoulders.

"'Parnasse, I said, not tonight. I will call the guards. I will find your application and rip it into pieces. You will never be the Exclusive. Back off or get kicked out." She warned.

"Oh, back on the guards. You know how that turns out, Pony." He said, referring to the time that she sounded the alarm, but he had jumped out the window and sneaked back into his bed at home, sound asleep before the guards had even left the castle to look for him. "I know you want me. Just give into your desires. I love you, Pony." He whispered, kissing her pulse point.

"No, you don't! Now get the hell out of my room before I make good on my threats. I could just tell your father. Who do you think he'd believe? The rat of a boy he created or the Daughter of the Queendom? Next week, when the real suitors get here, I want you to stay the heck away from me and anyone I get close to. You will not interfere, do you understand me? Anything that we ever did or could possibly have had is over now that my father started this stupid Election. Leave me alone, now. I want to be alone." She said, walking across the room and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Pony, I didn't mean-" He tried to reach for her, but she only folded into herself more.

"Out!" She screamed.

"I'll call for Azelma and Cosette. You shouldn't be alone right now. I will get you back, Pony. I promise. I will do everything I can. You will be mine." He said, and then left the room.

* * *

A/N: I'm back! I really have no idea how consistently this will be updated, but I decided it was time to publish the first chapter. If you have read the Selection series, I hope you see the parallels. If you haven't, I'd highly suggest it. I love that story, and I obviously love Enjonine, so I decided to combine them. This is one of the best first chapters I've ever written, even of my unpublished stuff. I'm hoping to make these chapters longer, so there might be more time between updates, but maybe not! We'll just see. A lot of that will have to do with you and your support. By now, if you've read my other stories, you know I love feedback, and just general love for my stories. On that note, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this and PM me or review with any questions, comments, praise, or anything else! If you want to review just to say you read it, put your favorite color in the box. Until next time my lovelies.


	2. The Form

The next morning, Enjolras woke later than normal. He got ready quickly and made it to breakfast before his parents left. His mother was a photographer, and a good one at that. Jackie Enjolras' pictures were seen in most magazines. She had her own studio a few blocks down the road where many celebrities would come to have photo shoots done by her. Régis Enjolras was a set designer for movies. He built the sets for most of the movies still shown. While there were some older films that people could still find and watch, they were cycled through on the televisions. There were only about fifteen available at any one time, and when a new one came out, the council would take a poll and then choose an old one to send to the archives. Special permission had to be granted to access those movies.

Both of the Enjolras parents worked with celebrities almost daily, so the kids were used to not having them around. Celebrities needed their beauty sleep, so their days started a little before lunchtime, and went late into the evening. This meant that the Enjolras family had their family meal of the day for breakfast. This morning was no different. They went around the table asking about what everyone had done the day before, and what they were planning to do that day.

"Yesterday, I had Noemie and Jean Prouvaire in the studio. You know, the pianist and poet sibling duo? They flew all the way here from Sector 3! They are releasing a new album, so we did a shoot for the Zinga. I'll bring home a copy when it's released." The Zinga was the magazine that was released around the country. It was mostly just a tabloid with some information about new things, but lots of gossip. "Today, I think I'm getting Inspector Javert. He saved that young girl from being robbed, you know. A homeless man tried to steal the bread right out of her hands, but Javert was there to save her and her bread. I wonder what he will be like." Jackie finished. "What about you, Gabriel? What did you do yesterday?"

"Oh, I worked on my proposal for a while, and then I went for a run." He said, shortly.

"Is that all?" His mother asked.

"Nope. He also got his letter." Adrienne responded for him.

"Gabriel! Why haven't we talked about this yet?" Jackie scolded.

"Because. I already filled it out. 'Ferre and I are going to go turn them in today." He told her, eating his oats with syrup and strawberries.

"Let me see your answers, at least. This is a wonderful opportunity, and while I have 100% faith in you, but you should really let your father and I look it over." He pulled the form out of his pocket and handed it over to his mother. She and Régis read it over, and then nodded at him.

"You did very well, son. Well worded." Régis said.

"Good picture choice, too." Jackie said. It was one she had taken of him at Adrienne's path choosing ceremony.

"Oh, 'El. You just have to be chosen! At least to go to the castle!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"I told you, 'Enne. Don't get your hopes up. It's not very likely I'll be chosen." She pouted and finished eating her oats with peaches. Everyone else had already talked about their day, and soon everyone was finished eating. Régis and Jackie got up and ready to leave. Adrienne and Adélaïde picked up the dishes and took them to the kitchen, where the maids would clean them and put them away. Enjolras made his way back up to his room to continue working on his proposal.

Enjolras was studying to become a lawmaker. While the King and Queen had total control, they had lawmakers to guide them and to choose the law enforcers, as well as oversee the reconcilers. The only problem was, it was a lifelong position, and there weren't very many. There was only fifty at a time, one from each Sector, and Enjolras had worked his butt off to let the council allow him to choose that as his plan of study. So, Enjolras continued to make proposals that would never get passed, if only because they were made by a student, instead of an actual lawmaker. He was getting close, however. One of the lawmakers, Jean Maximilien Lamarque, was getting very old and was quite close to dying. Once Lamarque was dead, Enjolras would be the best option to move into the position. While it was sad to see the old man dying, for he was very kind and had a good heart, it excited Enjolras. He just hoped this dumb competition wouldn't get in the way.

After a few hours of working on his proposal, Enjolras heard a knock on his bedroom door. He turned in his chair and saw his best friend walking in. "'Ferre. How are you today?" He greeted.

"I'm fine. How was your evening? How's the new proposal coming?" His friend asked, sitting down in a black bean bag that was on the floor.

"Good. I think I have a full draft done. How was your talk with Kamille?" He asked.

"Not so good. She took me asking as me saying I wasn't interested in her anymore. It took me a very long time to get her calmed down enough to explain." He said, putting his head in his hands.

"Oh, and how did you explain, exactly?" Enjolras asked, concerned.

"I explained that I was only doing it so you would. She seemed to understand, eventually. I also told her that if I made it to the castle, I would do everything I could to get kicked out, but she made me promise that I would stay long enough to ensure her a visit with the princess, and then I could get kicked out." Both boys laughed at that.

"So that's it. We're doing this then?" Enjolras asked, hoping his friend would back out.

"Yep. Let's go drop these off." Enjolras nodded, and both rose. They went downstairs to collect their shoes, and Enjolras yelled at his sisters to let them know what he was doing. Then they were off to deliver their forms.

Once at the city building, they went to the office, but there was a line of what seemed like every man within the correct age limit waiting for the office. The pair of friends went to the last person in line. Even though they already knew, they asked anyways. "Is this the line to turn in Election forms?"

"Yeah. I thought I would get it done early and get it turned in before the lines started, but apparently, so did everyone else." The man in front of them said. He was probably at the older end of the spectrum to be considered for the Elect.

They stood in line for a long time, chatting amongst the three of them, and eventually the person who came behind them. When there were only two people in front of Enjolras, 'Ferre spoke up. "I'm not sure I can do this to Kamille. She's having so many doubts right now, and is struggling in her studies. I don't need to add to that stress by seeming unfaithful."

"It'll be fine. You won't be chosen and then everything will be fine. I mean, look at this line. Do the math, mon ami. It's not in your favor to be selected. When things die down a little, you can ask her on a real date. Then in a couple of years, you'll ask her father's permission, which he will grant, and then you can marry her and live happily ever after. A doctor and his nurse." Enjolras tried to be reassuring.

"I don't know-"

"We made a deal, mon ami. Neither of us is going to be chosen, but we can both walk away, if that's what you want." Combeferre shook his head.

"Sir? Can we keep the line moving?" Enjolras heard a voice from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a woman who was looking at him impatiently. The two men in front of him had left.

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that." he said, walking towards the desk.

"Form?" She asked. He handed it to her.

"Family number?" She asked.

"12502." He replied.

"Name?"

"Gabriel Auguste Enjolras."

"Plan of Study?"

"Lawmaker."

"Move along, M. Enjolras." She said. He moved to the side to wait for Combeferre. As his friend went through the same process, he examined the line. It didn't seem to get longer, it just stayed the same length. He supposed, as the day wound down, it would get shorter.

"Okay. It's done. You better be right about me not having a chance, mon ami." Combeferre said, walking over to him.

"I will be. And if not, you won't last long in the castle. You're too much like me. You would be back to Kamille in no time. Ready to head home?" Enjolras asked.

"Yeah, but I'm going to stop at Kamille's. Just to, you know, let her know what I did." Enjolras nodded, and they left the office.

* * *

"AGH!"

"That's not a very lady-like sound."

"I don't care. Can't I sleep in after the terrible day I had yesterday?"

"Absolutely not. We have much work to do. Lots of planning. Get up, get dressed, and meet me and your siblings in the library."

"AGH!"

"Hurry up, 'Ponine."

"Go away, Cos."

When Éponine walked into the first floor of the library, she saw Cosette, Azelma, Pierre, and Gavroche all relaxed on bean bags with notebooks in their laps. "Finally! I thought you might never show up!" Gav said, jumping up.

"Gav, sit back down. We have work to do." Azelma chastised. "Does it really take that long for you to get your butt out of bed and ready?" She turned on her sister.

"Yes. Especially when I don't even know why I am up. It's ten in the morning! You couldn't have let me sleep a little longer?" Éponine complained. Azelma and Cosette both gave her an are-you-serious kind of stare before Éponine just plopped down in an open bean bag. "So, are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"We are planning for your upcoming, uh, inconvenience. If we can get His Majesty to call the whole thing off, that would be the best, but we can't come up with anyway to effectively do this. Now we just have to find a way to make it easy enough for you and try to keep it from ending in a marriage." Cosette explained.

"So, what have you got, so far?" Éponine asked.

"We have decided that we're going to push Daddy to let Cosette be the advisor in charge of the Election. She will then get to train all of the boys and spend the most time with them. She can help you effectively weed out the really terrible ones. She can make their lives miserable, and possibly even have say in the final decision, which would make it more like one and a half against one in the end, unless Mom gets involved." Azelma said.

"We also decided that Gavroche is going undercover during the whole op. He can really make the boys' lives hell, and he can go into the men's room and get information we can't. And we all know he's a little slimeball anyways." Cosette added. Éponine looked at her little brother with a smirk. He was grinning widely back at her.

"Well, at least he'll have to take a break from pulling pranks on us for a little while." The brunette girl said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Do you have anything to contribute, 'Ponine?" Azelma asked.

"Yeah, why is Pierre here?" She asked.

"I'm here to listen. My role is exactly that. I'm supposed to befriend these monsters that are trying to steal the beautiful 'Ponine from me." Pierre said, pouting.

"Aww, as sweet as that is, Pierre, I'm not your type." Éponine said, laughing.

"Alas, you are still beautiful. I'm going to get them to trust me, tell me what's going on. We'll have slumber parties and tell secrets and braid each others' hair! Then I can report back to the rest of you to use against them."

"I'm hurt! Are our slumber parties not enough for you? We tell secrets and braid each others' hair!" Éponine said.

"He means no harm, we just need him to get in well with the boys. I'm willing to give up my best friend to the dark side." Cosette said.

"Okay, anything else, 'Ponine?" Azelma said, attempting to get back on task.

"Nope. It seems like you three pretty much have this handled. I only have to deal with Dad and Montparnasse." Éponine replied.

"Montparnasty? What does he have to do with this?" Gavroche asked, using the nickname he had given the older boy many years earlier.

"He paid me a visit in my rooms last night-"

"Éponine, you didn't-" Cosette started.

"I'll rip him to pieces." Pierre said.

"No, I was too upset and tired. Besides, I'm over that time of my life. He doesn't seem to understand that I can't stand him anymore. But, he did put in an application, straight to Dad. There's no way he won't get picked. Of course, unless the selection of the Elect is not rigged, which we all know it is. So, unless Cos can get in and get his name out, Montparnasse is going to be a bit of a problem." Éponine said.

"Or, he could be very helpful. He could get rid of a lot of the boys just by being present. And then if you let him get in the lead a little bit…" Cosette said, plotting.

"No, absolutely not. I want nothing to do with the man. He drives me to insanity." Éponine said.

"Oh, come on, 'Ponine! If you did it once you can do it again!" Azelma said.

"What are you talking about?" Gavroche asked.

"Yeah, what are you talking about, 'Zel? If I did what?" Éponine asked, somewhat angrily, but also teasingly. Azelma blushed bright red, but put her head down and mumbled something that Éponine didn't catch. "That's what I thought."

"'Ponine, he could be used, though. If he gets chosen, we'll use him. If not, we don't need to worry about it. I'm not going to push the King about Montparnasse. That part can just be waited out." Cosette said.

"He's not even hot enough to make a good King." Pierre added.

Éponine was quiet for a moment. Finally, she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. But please don't make me be really alone with him. We can make it appear that way, but really, I need someone else there. You know, just in case."

"You've got yourself a deal. This whole thing is going to be an event, isn't it? Constant drama, constant problems." Cosette asked.

"But of course. That's why it exists. It exists to distract the country and make them focus on what the King and Queen want them to pay attention to, instead of whatever they were previously. I don't know what Mom and Dad's play is, but rest assured, I'm going to find out before it's over." Éponine said. With that she got up and walked out of the library. She ran up the stairs to the third floor and into her mom's office. She walked in calmly and waited for the queen to notice her.

"Éponine. What do you want?" She asked, only glancing up from her work.

"Just for acknowledgement from my mother." Éponine said sarcastically.

"Do not waste my time, I'm very busy." The queen responded, not even looking at her this time.

"Oh, I know. You always are, Helena. I just wanted to say I finished my assignment and need a new one. You know, part of your job is to train the next queen of the United Queendom of France." Éponine said, sitting on the arm of a chair, all just to annoy her mother who was all about being lady-like at all times.

"Okay, my darling daughter. How about these? I will find you a new assignment later. In a couple of weeks, you'll be too busy for much work, so I'll have to rework the schedule. Here you are. Write a half page about what you think these are, and then another page about why it is important to have and study. You may go do it elsewhere. Get to work, so I can get back to mine." The queen dropped a file on Eponine's lap before sitting back at her desk and turning her attention back to her work.

Éponine curtsied at the door, and then sprinted up the last flight of stairs and made her way to her spot on the fourth floor balcony of the library. Her feet dangled over the edge, between the rails, and she laid on her stomach so she could write as she read. The charts were very colorful. The first was a pie chart with ten categories. Service, Private, Monarchical, and Research, were some listed. Looking at the next charts, many were similar, but had sector numbers at the tops. Then there were some other graphs with years and words like doctor, designer, and teacher. They were charts showing how many people in which sectors were of which professions, Éponine realized. She also couldn't help but notice the amounts of monarchical jobs continued to diminish, not too noticeably in a year's time, but in ten, twenty, lots of jobs had disappeared from this category. Some entire career paths had been completely wiped out. Teachers were also going down, and almost simultaneously, the numbers of maids, guards, and other positions under the staff category were going up, especially in Sectors 1-5.

On one monarchical chart, there was a handwritten note in a margin.

Cut down. Every other Sector, every five, every ten.

When she got to a career chart for Sector 12, there was another handwritten note at the top of the page.

No more after Lamarque.

So, Helena was attempting to get rid of her so-called advisors. They were really just a safety net, anyways, but this could send the country into an outrage if they really understood. There were already enough riots and unsettlement. Éponine had set out to find the reason for starting the Election, but didn't really expect her mother to just hand it to her. She set to work with her assignment, as well as looking closely at all the changes, hoping to use them to her own devices.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's another chapter! The introduction of more characters, especially Eponine's family and friends are my favorite. This story is going to have very sporadic updates, most likely. I was going to do every other week, but I was just in Italy for the last week without my laptop or wifi, so that didn't happen.**

 **As stated in my last A/N, if you have any ideas for plot that you really want to see in this story, let me know. I'm very much looking for challenges within the Election to help weed out boys and pranks for Gavroche and the team can pull on the boys.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Read, review, favorite, follow, all that stuff, and I'll see you in another week or two with another chapter.**


	3. The Report

The week continued. Everyone kept working, like they had before the forms had been sent out. There was still a buzz around the country about who would be chosen from each sector. The Zinga was almost entirely focused on the Election, past and present. Princess Éponine's face was plastered everywhere, as well as the last marriage to come from an Election, King Claude Thenardier and Queen Helena Thenardier Jondrette. Before His Majesty was chosen as an Elect, he was a small-time inn-keeper in Sector 49. The inn was now famous, and his brother, who now ran it, was rich. Only the best people stayed in Sergeant de Waterloo. He had turned his form in, and the rest was history. Apparently, it was love at first sight for the current King and Queen. Now, they were running the country side by side, albeit poorly, according to Enjolras' view.

There were so many people on the streets, so many beggars, compared to the few people at the top who had so much wealth. Enough wealth to have enough food to eat until they puked, and then eat more. They threw lavish parties, and many in Sectors 1-5 didn't even know there were people who were less fortunate than them. They didn't think twice about all the staff they had in their houses, or their friends had in their houses. But Enjolras knew, and if he was going through with this Election, he had one goal: Get beggars off the streets. Make sure everyone had a roof and food. Make the United Queendom of France more fair, and a better place to live, for everyone, not just the celebrities and well-off.

But he knew he wasn't going to be chosen. While many of the people in the sector were saying he had a good shot, that he was attractive enough and the form he filled out would have sounded so wise and well-thought out, they were also saying that Daniel Travert was a good pick. When the day of the announcement was to be made, the entire Enjolras family crowded around their television. They turned on the Evening Report, and immediately saw Pierre Treamble. For being so young, Pierre was a highly accomplished reporter. He was the only reporter allowed to be on the castle grounds. There were high penalties for anyone else trying. If the royal family wanted anyone else to interview them or photograph them, the family came to them, not the other way around. Jackie had photographed them only a couple of times, in her own studio.

Pierre was dressed in a white suit, with a red tie. Behind him, were five ornate thrones. The one in the middle was the biggest, for the Queen. The one to the Queen's right was just slightly smaller, for the King. To his left was a very small one, for Prince Gavroche, who was eight. On the left of the Queen, was a very ornate, but smaller throne, for Princess Éponine, and to her right, was a smaller one for her younger sister, Princess Azelma. Princess Azelma and Prince Gavroche's thrones were the least ornate, and then the King's, as the two children would likely never see any real power. The Queen's and Princess Éponine's were the most ornate, designed by only the best furniture makers and artists.

After Pierre introduced the show, and the royal family processed into the view of the camera. The King and Queen, with their arms linked, were the first. The King was in a black suit, with a red tie, like Pierre's. The Queen was in a beautiful black, sequined dress, with red undertones. The next was Prince Gavroche, his arm linked with his older sister, Princess Azelma. Gavroche was matching his father and Azelma had a bright red strapless dress that ended just above her knees and had a band of jewels around her waist. Finally, Princess Éponine came into view. She was dressed in a very mature, form-fitting black dress. It had a halter top, and a slit cut up her right leg. As the fabric fell towards the floor, it slowly faded to a dark red. They all walked very gracefully to their thrones, and sat down together. They smiled at the cameras, and then the show began.

"Good evening. As you all know, last week, invitations were sent out to all eligible males between nineteen and twenty-four, to apply for the Election. Princess Éponine is coming upon her twentieth birthday, and by her twenty-first she is to be married. The Election process is a valued tradition in the United States of France. After all, it is how Queen Helena found her beloved husband, King Claude." Pierre launched into the story of their Election that had been broadcasted all week.

"So, tonight, we will be announcing the lucky fifty men who will be allowed to come to the castle next week to meet the Princess and compete for her heart. But before that, the Queen's advisors will all give us updates on how things are going around the country." Pierre said. In turn, each one of the ten advisors of the Queen, who were sitting on the side of the room to the right of the princesses, stood and gave their reports. A couple gave reports of attacks by the resistance on the sectors they oversaw. A couple gave positive reports of more employment of twenty-year-olds.

Many jobs were similar to Enjolras' in the fact that there weren't always positions open when students were scheduled to finish their plan of study. The most unemployment was found in twenty to twenty-five year olds, because of that. It was a serious problem around the Queendom.

"Okay, now that the boring stuff is done, let's get on with what everyone is watching for. Here to announce The Elect, is Lady Cosette Fauchelevent, our advisor in charge of the Election, and the United Queendom of France's sweetheart, next to the princesses, of course." Pierre winked at a young, blonde woman who walked out into view. She already had a microphone in her hand, and thanked Pierre.

"Thank you for that warm welcome, Pierre. It is such an honor to be here to introduce these fine young men to the country for the first time. Here we go." A square popped into view of the television screen. It was a feed of Princess Éponine's face, so that the whole country could see her reaction to each man.

"From Sector 1, Matthieu Montparnasse." A box popped up with his face in the opposite corner to hold picture that he sent in with his form. It was a decent picture, but obviously not done by Jackie. The princess's face didn't change at all as she studied the picture.

"From Sector 2 Daniel Lane." The picture shifted to a picture of Daniel. The princess shrugged, noting that he was okay looking.

"From Sector 3, Jean Prouvaire." The blonde said pleasanty. Jean's picture was one from the photo shoot done the week before with his sister and Jackie.

"That's my picture! He's such a nice boy, but look out for him, Gabriel." His mother warned. The pretty blonde continued on with the Elected. By the time she got to Sector 10, Enjolras' heart was pounding. After the announcement of Marius Pontmercy, from Sector 11, he held his breath. His mom reached over and grabbed his hand, while Adrienne grabbed the other. Régis grabbed Jackie's hand, and Adélaïde, on Regis's other side, grabbed his.

"From Sector 12,"

* * *

"Gabriel Enjolras." The twelfth picture came up on the screen next to the camera in front of Éponine's face. She felt herself smile a little bit. His picture was very good. His face wasn't bad, either. But she recognized that name and she wasn't sure why. She would have to do some digging into him. She continued to watch and have small reactions to each of the Elected pictures that came up. Cosette did a great job announcing. She could probably rival Pierre if she ever wanted his job. She was just so peppy and bouncy in public.

"You will now all be representatives of the crown, from now until the end of your lives. Don't abuse or misuse that honor. You will have one day to deal with the people of your sector. The following day, we will be sending reporters, guards, and various body artists to your homes to prepare you for your time, however short or long, at the castle. All of you should be hospitable to these guests who are only serving in your best interest.

"You will, the day after tomorrow, receive a detailed itinerary for your travel to the castle. Most of you will be leaving in six days, some of you will have to leave in five. Each one of you will have televised ceremonies of goodbyes on the day you will depart. We wish you luck, and cannot wait for your arrival at the castle. Back to you, Pierre." Cosette said, winking at their friend and handing him back his microphone and walking out of the view of cameras to watch the rest of the show and make funny faces at Éponine.

Pierre laughed and finished off the show. "It's always a pleasure, Lady Cosette." He said, using her formal title. "United Queendom of France, we thank you, and invite you to join us to celebrate this glorious tradition and welcoming these fifty men into the spotlight. Good night and join us next week to meet all of The Elect for their first day in the castle." The lights went out on the cameras.

The King and Queen left immediately. Gavroche, Azelma, Cosette, Pierre, and Éponine all gathered by the thrones. "Let's meet in my rooms in twenty minutes. Go change." The princess commanded.

"'Ponine, can I walk you back to your room? I'm fine in this." Pierre asked.

"No. We're having a sleepover so you can braid my hair. Go change."

"But what about Mon-"

"Go change, Pierre." The TV host conceded and they all walked out of the throne room. Éponine ran as fast as her dress would allow up to the fourth floor. Pierre was right, and she didn't want Montparnasse to catch her tonight. She made it to her room, and slammed the double door shut, which effectively roused Rosabel.

"Princess?" She asked, coming into the sitting room.

"Everything is okay. I have to change, but I'm going to do it by myself. I need you to stay here and make sure Sir Montparnasse doesn't try to worm his way in here. Do you understand? He is not allowed in my rooms anymore, unless I authorize it directly. Also, Cosette, Azelma, Gav, and Pierre are sleeping up here tonight." Éponine said, walking into her changing room and closet. She picked out a set of fluffy pajama pants and a camisole to change into. She went into the bathroom to wash her makeup off and take her hair out of the fancy updo Rosabel had done earlier that night. She threw it up into a simple ponytail when all of the pins were out. She then began to gather the extra mattresses, pillows, and blankets they kept in the rooms adjoined to hers for these kinds of nights. The extra rooms are meant to be her husband's between the time he proposes until her parents pass away, but so far they have been very unnecessary. There are plenty of rooms like that in the castle. They are meant for a singular purpose, and mostly unused.

Pierre was the first to arrive, which was somewhat of a feat, considering he had to go down to the basement, weave through the maze of staff rooms, and then come back up to the fourth floor of the castle, not to mention get out of all of his clothes and get the things needed for the sleepover in Éponine's room. Gavroche and Azelma followed him a couple minutes later. Cosette eventually made her way up, but she was being followed. Rosabel tried to shut the door on him, but he was stronger than her.

"Montparnasse, get out." Éponine said when he appeared between her at the television screen.

"Aww, Pony, you don't want to see me? You don't want to tell me how excited you are that we can be together forever?"

"No. Get out of my rooms."

"Or what? You'll set Gav and Pierre on me?" He mocked.

"No. I'll set Cosette and Azelma on you. Then Pierre can give you a makeover."

"Just remember, Pony. You're mine. We were destined for each other, and no pretty little Sector boy can change that." With that, he left.

"Well, now that's out of the way, who wants to watch a movie?" Éponine asked. Gavroche picked a movie, which he fell asleep to within twenty minutes. The other four quietly got up and went into Éponine's bedroom.

"Are we going to do recon now?" Cosette asked.

"Yes, please! Those short glimpses were not enough for me. I don't know what's so bad about this Election, 'Ponine. They are all so attractive! How are you supposed to just choose one?" Azelma said, Pierre nodding energetically.

"Tone it down a little, you two. You can each have your pick after this is all over." She said.

"Okay, starting with number one…"

"Let's skip that one. We know about him." Éponine said, shifting. They were laying on her bed with her laptop and scheming notebook open in front of them.

"Okay, number two. Daniel Lane. Dirty blonde hair, strong jaw, oh, that scruff is doing things to me…"

"Pierre!"

"Sorry! Anyways, he's studying to be a physical therapist. He's just tall enough for you, you wouldn't be able to wear much of a heel-" Pierre said.

"I think that's enough. 'Zel, who's next?" Éponine asked.

"Jean Prouvaire. Sector 3. He and his sister are that great piano/singer duet. He writes all the lyrics for the new sappy ballads and she puts his poems to music that they go around performing. Bleach blonde, kind of looks like a surfer hippie. He's a little short for you, but he seems like a cool dude. He has a cute baby face!"

"Cos, Sector 4?" They went through all fifty exing out the ones who didn't make the cut by their short bios and pictures. She only lingered on a couple, which the other three took mental notes of, as well as their personal favorites.

"Okay, so far my favorites are Sector 3, 5, 6, 11, 25, and 31, right?" Éponine circled these.

"I think you should give 20 a second look." Azelma said.

"And how about 3. He was cute!" Pierre said.

"You know, they all have names. Is no one going to talk about how long she looked at Gabriel Enjolras? Sector 12?" Cosette said, exasperated.

"You did stare at him and his bio for quite sometime." Azelma admitted.

"Yeah, but I don't think he's going to make the cut. He'll have to pass the personality test. I recognized his name because of his mom. And it's just interesting that he's training to be a lawmaker, that's all." She said, thinking back to the note she found that morning in her studies.

"Sure. Whatever you say, 'Ponine. We should probably go to sleep. We got a lot done, and Cosette has lots to do before she has to leave to meet all the boys." Azelma said.

"Okay, let's go back into the sitting room. Gavroche doesn't need to know we did this without him. We can just say we all fell asleep during the movie." Éponine said. They all four filed out of Éponine's room and made themselves comfortable. Pierre and Azelma each were on mattresses. Gavroche was curled up in a big recliner chair. Cosette went over by the fireplace, on the side of the room next to the balcony, and laid out on the blue sectional. Éponine made herself comfortable on the white sectional in front of the television screen. Soon they were all fast asleep, preparing for what the next few months would entail.

* * *

After his name was announced, the whole Enjolras family just sat looking at the screen. Suddenly, the phone started ringing, so Adélaïde jumped up to answer it. Adrienne finally reacted, and hugged her brother tightly.

"El! That's you! You're going to the castle! You are going to meet the princess!" She shouted into his ear.

"Gabriel, this is wonderful! You have to go. I know you aren't super excited about it, but it could really help you and our family. We can only ask that you try your best." Jackie said.

"I know, Mom. I'll go. I just, I guess I still didn't think there was actually a shot of me going to the castle. Not for the Election, at least." He explained. They could hear Adélaïde in the other room, answering phone call after phone call.

"Hello? Yes, hi. Yes, that is our Gabriel. Please hold for a moment, someone else is calling on the other line. Hello?" It went on like that for a while, Adélaïde being the epitome of poised, polite, and using her every ounce of training as a personal assistant until Régis went over to the phone and unplugged it from the wall.

"Dad! There were people waiting!" Adélaïde shouted at him.

"Honey, you're great at your job, but come celebrate with your brother. These people can wait. If they are really happy for Gabriel, and not just wanting to talk to our newest celebrity, they will gladly wait until we have celebrated as a family." Régis said.

They both went back into the living room and Adélaïde hugged her brother. "I'm really happy for you, 'El."

Régis patted his son on the back. "I'm so proud of you, Gabriel. We will all deal with the public tomorrow, but for now, do you want to watch the rest of your competition?" His father asked.

Enjolras nodded, and they all sat back down to watch the rest of the Evening Report. "From Sector 44, Leon Claquesous." After all fifty were announced, Lady Cosette talked a little bit more and then passed off the microphone to Pierre. They looked very comfortable with each other. Enjolras decided he would look into them during his time at the castle. Pierre finished off the show, the screen went blank, and then Enjolras was engulfed in a family hug.

 **A/N: I bet none of you saw that coming. Enjolras is going to the castle! And is Eponine interested? I really like the family I've created for Enjolras, so if you have read TKP, it's fairly similar, except, I thought Adrienne would make a really good little sister. I can't wait for you to really meet the competition in a couple of chapters! As always, read, review, and let me know what you want to happen!**


	4. The Breakup

The next morning, Enjolras woke up and thought it was all just a dream. He hoped it was all a dream. As he went downstairs, he realized it wasn't. His family was all in a cheerful mood, ready to eat. Once he sat down, to oats and strawberries, just like the day before, they started eating and talking about their day, just as they had the day before. They easily got sidetracked, however.

"Yesterday, I didn't have anyone in the studio, I was just prepping pictures to be sent to print. Today, your father and I are taking the day off to spend with you. We will both be very busy in the next week, getting ready for your goodbye ceremony, as well as all of the other ones. You will also be busy, Gabriel, with all the people coming to get you ready for the castle and princess." Jackie said. Régis just nodded.

"What do we have to do to get ready?" Adrienne asked.

"I thought you could write a song to perform at the ceremony." Enjolras answered.

"Really? Would they allow that?" Adrienne asked, disbelief apparent in her face.

"They have to. It's my ceremony, and I want my sister to sing." Enjolras responded. Adrienne looked to her parents

"I don't see why not." Jackie said, having a quick eye conversation with her husband.

"Oh! I have to get started. It will have to be perfect! Nothing but the best for the future King of the United Queendom of France!" Adrienne said, quickly finishing her meal, and then jumping up to go to her room to work.

"And what do I need to do?" Adélaïde asked. "Just stay out of the way? Answer the phone?"

"'Laide, I was thinking that you could actually be my PA, until go to the castle, that is. And at the ceremony, I want you and Gilbert to be the last ones I say goodbye to. 'Ferre can be first, then Mom and Dad. After that, 'Enne can sing. Then you and Gil." Enjolras said.

"Oh, 'El. That's why you're going to make a great King. You always know the right thing to say and how to say it. The Princess has to fall in love with you. Everyone always does." She said. She came over to hug him from behind his chair, and then went to plug the phone in, but took it to her room, so that she could be with her computer and the phone, keeping tabs of everything.

Very soon after Enjolras and his parents finished eating, there was a knock on the door. The three looked at each other, and then Enjolras got up to answer it. He swung the big door open, only to find his best friend. "Mon ami!" 'Ferre said, excitedly.

"Hey, 'Ferre. I guess you were watching last night." Enjolras said, leading his friend into the living room. "Mom, Dad, if you'll excuse us." Jackie and Régis nodded and went into their bedroom and study, respectively.

"I feel like I should bow to you right now." His friend joked.

"Why would you do that?" Enjolras asked.

"Because, there is no way that the Princess is going to be able to resist the charms of Gabriel Auguste Enjolras. No one can, when you set your mind to something." He said, sitting on the couch across from his friend. "Soon, you will have the Princess, royal family, and the entire country in the palm of your hand. I just hope you won't forget me. I want to be at the wedding."

"Okay. Whatever you say, mon ami. You know you're my best man, always. Speaking of girls, though, did you and Kamille celebrate your name not being called?" He asked, and immediately regretted it. His friend's face fell. "Maurice, what happened?" He asked.

"Gabe, it was bad. I went to talk to her, like I said I was going to. She kissed me as I walked in, since she was the only one home, so we didn't have to worry about her parents or older sister. She lead me to the couch, where we kissed for a while, but eventually I had to stop her. I had to tell her that we submitted our forms. So I did. And she burst into tears. She started yelling at me, saying that I didn't love her. She said I didn't feel the same as she did, that I was just using her until I could get my hands on Princess Éponine.

"I tried to explain that I did it for you, that I knew you would be chosen, and turning in my form was the only way to make you do it, but that only made her more upset. She started screaming and throwing punches. Luckily, she couldn't see past her tears to do too much damage, physically."

"She hit her target right on point, emotionally, though. I'm so sorry, 'Ferre. I shouldn't have made you do this. I didn't know-" Enjolras shook his head at the floor.

His friend had his head in his hands, and his voice was close to breaking. "She kicked me out, Enjolras. She said she never wanted to see me again. She told me-" He stopped, and a couple of sobs leaked out. "She told me to have fun touching the princess because she would never let me touch her again."

"As if your relationship is all physical. 'Ferre, I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I shouldn't have made you fill out a form. If I would have known how she would react-" Enjolras said.

"You couldn't have. It's in the past. I'll move on, but right now, I have no one. I don't have the Princess, I don't have Kamille, and even you are leaving me." His friend said, regaining his composure.

"I'm still here for a couple days. What can I do to make it better?" Enjolras asked.

"I don't know."

"Let's do something fun, just the two of us. We can let go of our girl problems for a while."

"You haven't even met the Princess, but the two of you are already having problems? Leave it to you to have problems with the most beautiful and second most powerful woman in the country." Combeferre said, smiling. "What did you have in mind?"

"I have no idea." Enjolras admitted.

Cue little sister running, squealing into the room. "'El, I- Oh, hi 'Ferre. How's Kamille?" Adrienne asked.

"Not good, last time I saw her." Combeferre said, the smile slipping from his face.

"What did you do?" She asked, glaring at the older boy.

"It was my fault, 'Enne. Combeferre turned in his form, because I made him, and now Kamille is mad." Enjolras said.

"Oh, well. She shouldn't be mad. You didn't get picked. Everything is fine. She's just being a priss." Adrienne said. It was Combeferre's turn to glare at the girl.

"Don't you-" he started.

"Stop. Both of you. Adrienne, did you have something to tell me? Because we were just getting ready to leave." Enjolras said.

"I don't remember. Where are you going?" She asked.

"We aren't sure yet, but I'll see you at supper." Enjolras said, getting up and leading his friend back towards the door to leave.

* * *

The next morning, Éponine was woken up by something hitting her in the face. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" A young voice squealed.

"Gav! I was sleeping!" Éponine yelled back, swinging her arms in hopes of hitting the boy. A pillow came flying from the other side. "'Zel! This is so not fair." Éponine protested before curling up into a ball and covering herself with a blanket to block out the light Pierre had just turned on.

"Nope. Time to get up. You need to help Dad and Cosette look over the castle details. Plus, you have homework." Azelma said, pulling the blanket from around her older sister.

"Ughhhhhh." Éponine said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "Where is Cosette anyways?"

"She's already off getting ready for the Election. This has a lot more responsibility than we originally thought, but Cosette is having the time of her life, it seems." Pierre said, sitting on the sectional next to her. "Azelma, Gav, don't you have school work you should be doing?" He asked. The younger royalty scampered out of the room. Pierre turned his focus back on the Princess. "Go shower. Then I'll brush and braid your hair."

"I was kidding about that." Éponine said, standing and walking towards her bedroom.

"I know. I wasn't."

After Éponine was ready for the day, Pierre left to do whatever he did during the day. Éponine found her father and looked over plans and rooms that were already done, choosing her favorites to use for the boys' bedrooms, the dining sets, even tapestries to go in the hallways.

"Why can't the same tapestries stay up? Why do we have to change our whole lifestyle for some guys I don't even want to meet?" Éponine protested in between presentations.

"Because, this is a big deal. Not just for us, but for the whole country. The whole world, in fact, will be watching you choose your future husband. It is cause for excitement and change. That's why we called the election. Everyone will be focussed on you for the next year or so. Do you understand, my 'Ponine?" The King asked.

"Yes. I understand that you want attention diverted from whatever you and Mom are doing, and you're using your own daughter as that diversion. I'll go along with it, but you know I won't be happy about it." She huffed.

"You don't have to be happy, off camera. I expect all smiles and wonderful acting when around cameras and the public. That includes the boys. Especially the boys. They will all share everything they've learned in the palace as soon as they get out." He said as the next presenter came in, this time about the first formal meal the boys and the royal family would share.

"So, you're telling me to get close to the boys, but not let them know everything. They could share valuable secrets. Why are we even letting them into the palace? They could all be spies!" Éponine said, after the tasting was concluded and a decision was made.

"Precisely. You need to learn who deserves to know what, and when. That will make you a good queen. Also, knowing when to reveal favorites, and when to make an enemy will be an invaluable skill you should know and learn through this process. The election is just as much a part of your training to be queen as any reading assignment your mother gives you." The King explained.

"Speaking of, I have many of those reading assignments to do, so if we're all done here, I'll see you at dinner, Papa." Éponine said, standing.

"Of course, my darling. Have a good day." He said. Éponine started towards the door. "Oh, and Éponine." She turned around. "Don't stress too much over this. You're pretty face is still as important as ever and you don't need stress lines." Éponine smirked at her father and turned on her heel, leaving the room.

* * *

Enjolras and Combeferre didn't end up doing much. They just went to the rec center and raced, kicked around a ball, and swam for a bit. They were back at their respective houses before dark. "Thanks, mon ami. Today was fun. I just wish Kamille wasn't mad at me." Combeferre said.

"Yeah, she'll get over it. If you love each other, and I know you do, she'll be over at your house begging you to take her back soon enough. Everything will turn out, you'll see." Enjolras reassured.

"I hope you're right. Don't stress too much, and don't be a stranger, mon ami. See you later." They parted ways and entered their own houses, just in time for supper.

Normally, supper was quiet in the Enjolras household. Tonight, however, everyone was in attendance and couldn't keep themselves from talking about all they had accomplished that day. Enjolras apologized for spending his parents' day off with his friend, but they brushed it off, saying Combeferre needed him more. Adrienne had already blabbed the whole story to the family.

"'Enne, will you come with me to see Kamille tonight? Maybe we can talk her into forgiving 'Ferre."

She gave him a funny look. "Why do you need me? Can't you just do it by yourself. I don't want to see her if she's going to be snippy. She messed up."

"Adrienne! She's still your best friend. What's gotten into you?" Jackie chastised. Adrienne just shrugged.

"You need to come with me because it wouldn't be proper for me to visit a girl this late, but if I was just escorting you to speak to a friend, that would be okay. Please, 'Enne?" Enjolras pleaded. "For 'Ferre? I can't stand him being so down and me not being able to do anything about it."

Adrienne sighed. "Fine. But you owe me a meeting with the princess."

"Deal. If I stay long enough to get you a visit, that is." He explained.

* * *

"No. He broke my heart when he did that. I won't talk to him. Not even for you, Enjolras. I'm happy he didn't get chosen, but that doesn't mean what he did was right."

Enjolras and Adrienne were at Kamille's house. Enjolras and Kamille were sitting on the couch in their living room, which was identical to the Enjolras' equivalent room. Adrienne was sitting on a chair, watching the two debate.

"Please, Kamille. You didn't see how broken he was this morning. It almost killed me seeing him so sad. Won't you at least talk to him?" Enjolras pleaded.

"No." The eighteen-year-old said, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head.

Enjolras looked at his sister, begging her to do something. She rolled her eyes and sighed, but nodded. "Look, Kami. We've been friends for a long time. We grew up together and we've only started to pull apart because of our studies. You know how strong our friendship is. 'El and 'Ferre's is even stronger. They are practically brothers. Can you imagine how you would feel if I was in love and then he broke up with me because of something you did? Or something you didn't do, but was just as stupid?"

Kamille looked at her friend and blinked.

"You would want to beat the crap out of him, but you would also just want me to feel better. And if you could, you would want to get us back together, no matter the cost. That's all 'El is trying to do. So if you won't do it for 'Ferre, or yourself, or me, can't you do it for the future King of the United Queendom of France?" Kamille burst into tears at this point. Adrienne rushed over to her friend and embraced her. She petted her hair and rocked her, shushing her.

"Kami, do you want me to spend the night? We can talk and you can keep crying without my creepy brother watching us. We'll figure out a solution." Kamille nodded, and Adrienne glanced at Enjolras, telling him to leave, that they would be okay. He nodded, stood, and left, shaking his head and thinking he would never understand girls.

* * *

"Rosabel, am I getting stress lines?" Éponine asked her maid as she was getting ready for bed that night.

"Of course not, Princess! Why would you think something like that?" Rosabel responded, brushing her hair back.

"Something my dad mentioned today. We had a very strange conversation. I didn't think I was, but I just wanted to be sure." Éponine said, standing.

"What do you mean, strange?" The maid asked, putting the princess's dressing gown around her.

"It was about the boys, the plan, the election. I think my parents are planning something, and we all know that is not ever a good sign. When I rule this country, I'm going to put in a fierce board of advisors to make sure I don't do stupid things or go crazy." Éponine said, leaving her vanity to walk to her bed.

"That sounds like a very intelligent thing to do, Princess."

"Rosa, you were around when my grandmother was queen, were you not? You would have been a little girl, but do you remember anything about how she ruled? Was she as crazy as my mother?" Éponine asked, laying down in between the sheets that Rosabel had pulled up for her.

"I remember stories, better. Queen Félicité was a good ruler. She kept unemployment numbers down, and tried to create fairly equal pay through the different sectors, even those in the higher numbers. She always looked very pretty and kind on the screens, but of course, she was old and I was very young. I didn't know any better than to love the Queen of the country. I definitely never thought I would be working in the palace where she lived. I also think that her time was cut too short. She could've done so much more good, had she had just a few more years. But that's enough politics before bed, Princess. You still have much to do in the next few weeks, and we want to keep you rested. Heaven knows you won't get much rest when all those boys get here. None of us will, I imagine." Rosabel said, starting towards the exit to the room.

"Thank you for your insight, Rosa. I will see you tomorrow. Turn out the light when you leave, please."

"Of course, Princess. Good night, and sweet dreams."

* * *

"I didn't actually break up with for turning in the form. I mean, I did, but that was just a dumb tipping point. Adri, I don't love him anymore. I was looking for a way out, and when he came to tell me about the form, I took the chance." Kamille said.

"But, didn't you kiss when he came to tell you? That's what 'El said." Adrienne asked.

"I was trying to make myself love him again." Kamille admitted, looking sheepish. "But it didn't work. Please don't tell him. Let him think I am mad. I think he would be worse off if he knew I didn't love him anymore. I don't want to break his heart anymore than I already did. I'd rather him hate me than think he can change my feelings." Kamille started silently crying again.

"Kami, I'm so sorry for being mad at you about this. I won't tell him unless you want me to. I won't even tell my brother." Adrienne said, hugging her best friend.

"Thank you. I feel so bad. I did love him, but not anymore. And you've been right. You always were, Adri. I only started dating Maurice to get closer to your brother. But I did have real feelings for Maurice in the middle. They just weren't enough. And why would Gabe take me after this stupid stunt?" Kamille said through tears.

"I know. I've known the whole time. But had you been with him, we would be in the reverse of this situation, and you know as well as I do that 'El needs to go to the castle. You would have been holding him back. You'll find your King someday, but it's not my brother."

"Tell him that I knew he would win. I know he'll win the whole thing, if that's what he wants. And I agree with you. I'm glad we aren't together." Kamille said, just hugging her best friend, now.

Adrienne pulled away to look at the nurse in training. "Kami, I have something to ask you. And please don't get mad at me when I do. I just want a yes or no answer."

 **A/N:** What does Adrienne have to ask Kamille? If someone guesses it correctly, I'll update on the day they guess. Otherwise, it'll be another couple of weeks. A lot of the next couple of chapters are mostly filler, but each one has little secrets or small things to help in the future plot, so pay good attention. This story isn't as popular as many of my others, which doesn't really make me super mad, but I'm just curious as to why. Maybe I just haven't posted enough yet. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next! Read, enjoy, and let me know if you have any suggestions for what you want to see in this story!


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